We think our dog ate part of a black walnut?!

[ang79]

The kids had her outside for a walk and they saw her pick a small black walnut from the ground. They tried to get it out but then had to pick her up to move her because a car came by, so they think she ingested part of it. This was about 30 min. ago. She had dry kibble shortly before going out and has had water since coming in. I called the vet and they just gave me the number for the ASPCA Poison Control, but it is a $75 fee for them to give a consultation over the phone. In googling, it says there can be a fungus on the black walnuts that can be poisonous. Not sure if I should wait and watch for symptoms? The piece was probably an inch or less in size we think. My big concern is she is only about 15 lbs.

[doberbrat]

I would induce vomiting - hydrogen peroxide 1 tsp per 5lbs. if nothing for 30min you could do a 2nd dose. i like to use those syringes that come with baby meds.

[Kestrel]

Ditto on the peroxide. She's gonna hate it - do it anyway.

[doberbrat]

btw, you only have 2ish h to do it so hopefully you saw this quickly. Let us know how it turns out.

[ang79]

So after a posted (in a bit of a panic as I researched the internet, lol) the girls took me to where they were walking with her and think they found what she chewed on. It was just down the road in a neighbor's yard. It appears to be a small black walnut that she picked up, chewed into pieces, and spit back out (we found cracked and mushed up pieces near each other). Since they weren't certain that she had swallowed any, I didn't want to make her throw up and traumatize her. She is still acting and drinking normally. We took her out to play in the yard, she pooped and peed, and now she is in her mellow phase before we go to bed. Will continue to keep an eye on her, fingers crossed it really was nothing more than a crunch and spit!

Out of curiosity, is it normal for the vet's office to just refer to poison control (they did tell me there would be a fee but not how much) without giving any actual vet advice? That annoyed me. We have been with this office for years with our cats and they have seen the dog once since we got her, so we are established patients. I was kinda hoping for the receptionist to send the question back to the vet or nurse and then a call back about if I should have her seen, induce vomiting, or just wait and watch for symptoms. I mean if I have a question about one of my kids, I can all the ped. and ask, or if its during non-office hours, I can call the nurse hotline and they answer questions.

[ourbabygirl]

I'm so sorry! Our own puppy has eaten a couple of things lately that I've called the vet about, and the receptionist has either told me what to do right away, or has put me on hold to ask the vet.

[ang79]

I'm so sorry! Our own puppy has eaten a couple of things lately that I've called the vet about, and the receptionist has either told me what to do right away, or has put me on hold to ask the vet.

Why do dogs have to eat weird things? Ours has tried to eat wood mulch, tire mulch, a crispy dried up frog, several crispy dried up snakes, stones, bits of tree branch on the ground, etc. And right after we got her she got into the trash can in the girls bathroom and tore up a used panty liner and ate some of that (she pooped it out a few days later).


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[doberbrat]

IME its totally normal that they turf to Poison Control who charges up front.

Teddy & Princess are the worst dogs I've ever had in terms of eating stuff. There was one trip in NC where I had to induce vomitting THREE times over Christmas break. They climbed onto a table and ate soap (Do you KNOW how much foam is generated by vomiting up soap??) They opened a closet door and ate a chair to climb 4 ft to eat candy & wrappers on a shelf and climbed a table to jump on a corner shelf more than 5ft high to eat 6 bars of chocolate.

Teddy is infamous at school. He eats homework several times a year. He eats $, crayons and boxes. 2 weeks ago I picked up one of the girls' undies from the floor to find it crotchless. One of them had eaten it.

Gotta love them

[ChicagoNDMom]

Well, my vet’s office always gives advice over the phone (receptionist/tech consults with one of the vets).. Dog ate chocolate (had to go in and induce vomiting with apomorphine due to amount of chocolate) and a bird (did not need to go in, but they told me what to monitor him for).

Honestly, the fact that the pet poison control charges an upfront fee is a shame. But then again, many “pet welfare” charities/organizations like ASPCA are scams.

[ezcc]

I'm pretty sure poison control (with a fee) is fairly standard. I think it is because it is so complicated- different sizes/breeds and also the sheer number of things that pets get in to- no vet could possibly have all that at their finger tips.